Director of Information Technology

About the role

The Director of Information Technology will lead the design, deployment, security and ongoing management of all technology infrastructure for a new luxury hotel in Manama. This senior position is responsible for ensuring that every IT system meets Kempinski brand standards, local data regulations and municipal requirements throughout the pre‑opening phase and into full operation.

Key responsibilities

• Oversee the complete lifecycle of IT setup, including hardware installation, software configuration, system integration and testing before hotel launch.
• Deploy core hospitality systems such as Opera PMS, Oracle Simphony POS, revenue management, electronic keycard access, guest Wi‑Fi, PABX/telephony and IPTV.
• Design and implement high‑availability network architectures (Cisco, Microsoft Server, VLANs, firewalls) and establish 24/7 support to guarantee uptime across guest and back‑of‑house areas.
• Implement cybersecurity protocols, role‑based access controls, data backup frameworks and disaster‑recovery plans while ensuring PCI‑DSS and Bahrain data‑protection compliance.
• Manage vendor SLAs, software licences, warranties and both OpEx and CapEx budgets for all technology acquisitions.
• Recruit, onboard and train the IT support team, set up help‑desk workflows and deliver hotel‑wide training on core systems and security awareness.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Network Engineering or a related field.
• 3–5+ years of IT leadership experience in a luxury hotel environment, preferably with pre‑opening installations.
• Business fluency in English; conversational Arabic is an advantage.
• Familiarity with Middle‑East/GCC telecom standards and Bahrain data‑privacy laws.

Required skills

• Opera PMS
• Oracle Simphony POS
• Cisco switches and routers
• Enterprise firewalls
• VLAN configuration
• Microsoft Server environment
• Hyper‑V virtualization
• VMware virtualization
• Active Directory
• PCI‑DSS compliance
• Data backup and recovery
• Disaster recovery planning
• High‑availability network design
• IPTV systems
• PABX/Telephony
• Guest Wi‑Fi (HSIA) management